Definition of ask
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: to call on for an answer
She asked him about his trip.
b
: to put a question about
asking her opinion
2a
: to make a request of
She asked her teacher for help.
b
: to make a request for
She asked help from her teacher.
3
: to call for : require
a challenge that will ask much of us
4
: to set as a price
asked $3000 for the car
5
: invite
She asked a few friends to the party.
ask for it
ask for trouble
informal
: to behave in a way that invites punishment or retribution
Experts used to think that battered women were "asking for it"—somehow masochistically provoking abuse from their men. Mercifully, that idea has now been discredited.— Michele Ingrassia
informal
: to behave in a way that is likely to result in trouble
… you are asking for trouble if you try to lift too much weight …— Douglas Jeffrey
ask
nounDefinition of ask (Entry 2 of 2)
chiefly British, informal
: something asked for, requested, or required of someone
—used especially in phrases like a big ask and a tough ask to say that what is being asked for or hoped for is difficult or unlikely It's a big ask, I think, demanding audiences recall a plot from two years ago, and while normally I don't mind a big ask … this particular ask utterly defeated me.— Deborah Ross
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for ask
The first known use of ask was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century